


The Best of Intentions

by thenakedbearlady



Category: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Movies)
Genre: Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Miscarriage, Past Abuse, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-09
Updated: 2020-04-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:27:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23558353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenakedbearlady/pseuds/thenakedbearlady
Summary: Takes place shortly after the end of the 2003 film. The Hewitts are tucked away in an abandoned property living on the lamb when a good samaritan unwittingly delivers herself right to their doorstep
Relationships: Leatherface | Thomas Brown Hewitt/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	1. Good Samaritan

Twelve hours and change and Barbie still couldn’t keep herself from peering anxiously into her rearview mirror. She’d been driving almost non-stop, only pausing for gas or bathroom breaks. Logistically she knew that if Roger was going to catch up with her today he’d have done it by now, but she just couldn’t stop herself. No amount of singing along with the radio was going to calm her down, no matter how loudly she sang. She tried to stop herself, avoided looking as long as she could, but every few minutes she’d cave.

Barbie gave in again and glanced in the mirror, her right hand floating up unconsciously to rub her tummy with soothing little circles. Her gaze was focused, brows furrowed in concentration as she assured herself that there was no one behind her. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding and looked back to the road only to scream as she hit the brake as hard as she could. Instead of stopping, the van spun off the road and into the tall grass.

It took her a second to catch her breath, her heartbeat erratic as her mind raced. _Why was there someone on the road? Did they want to get hit? Had she hit them? Were they okay?_ Her stomach roiled, forcing her out of her panic as she opened the door and dry heaved. The smell of burning rubber just added to her nausea, and for the first time since she’d left the house without breakfast, she was glad for an empty belly.

With her hand returning to her tummy, holding it gently, she hopped out of the van and made her way gingerly back to the road. After a quick check to make sure she herself was not in danger, she snapped her attention to the road to be sure the same could be said for the other person. The stranger - a small boy caked in dirt - had not needed a second to recover from his near demise, and was running past her van towards the tree line. “Wait!” she called, reaching towards him futilely, “Are you okay?” The boy didn’t answer or slow down, just scampered away.

Barbie lowered her hand, looking quickly between the woods and the road. The smart thing to do would be to get back on the road, assuming she wasn’t stuck. She didn’t want to lose her head start, and while she’d been lucky so far, Barbie had no idea how far ahead of Roger she really was. But in all the time she’d been on this road alone, she’d not seen a single business or house either. The only life, save the boy, had been a cow or two meandering in the fields. _Surely he wouldn’t be so careless without a reason?_

As soon as the thought entered her head she felt stupid. She didn’t know this boy from Adam, it could be completely normal for him to run into traffic, for all she knew, it could be his favorite game. Even as she told herself that Barbie was beginning to jog after him, trying desperately to catch up. It took a few minutes, she was not in the habit of running, and little boy’s legs were built for it, but, she finally caught up.

“You.” she panted, bracing her hands on her knees as she bent over, “Didn’t wait.” He stopped this time, turning to her with a frown on his face, and Barbie finally got a good look at him. He needed a bath first and foremost, she’d never seen a person so covered in filth, and it seemed _he_ had never seen a dentist or a bar of soap. He was carrying a bag that was almost bigger than him, and she wondered how she’d missed it the first time.

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” he muttered, almost too softly for her to hear.

A chill went down her spine, but Barbie steeled herself, determined to make sure this boy was okay. She’d just run longer and harder than she’d done in a long while and she was not going to let it be a waste. _Besides, it’s not normal for little boys to give warnings like that._ Drawing in a deep, centering breath, she pushed herself back up and smiled as sweetly as she could manage under the circumstances.

“You don’t have to be scared. I wanted to apologize for before and make sure you’re alright.”

“I’m fine, you can get on with your business.” The boy turned away, apparently deciding the conversation was over. Barbie didn’t agree.

“Well, I’d feel a lot better if you let me take you home, just to be safe.” Her voice dripping with saccharinity.

“And you’d be better off leavin’ before you can’t no more.” He started walking away and for a moment Barbie considered taking his advice. Her moment of weakness was over almost before it began, but not before the shame could start creeping in. Even if this little boy made her uncomfortable it would be negligent to let him wander off alone. _Especially_ with his not so cryptic comments.

“I’m not going anywhere until I see you safe with your family, so you can stop trying to scare me off.” This time her voice was less artificial, her smile natural if weary, “Why don’t you tell me your name and let me help you with that bag, it looks heavier than you are.”

The boy huffed, scowling at her, before finally shrugging. “Name’s Jedidiah,” he turned a final time and started walking away, though this time at a slower pace for Barbie to keep up with, “And I got the sack. Granny says it’s not right to make a lady carry heavy things.”

With that tidbit filed away, she caught up with him and fell into pace beside him. “A gentleman I see, and what a grown-up name, so mature! My name is Barbara, but you can call me Barbie, all my friends do.” Jedidiah glanced up at her smiling a bit sheepishly, and she could swear he was blushing. He didn’t say anything else though, leading her deeper and deeper into the woods. 

The rest of the trip was made in silence, their new pace brisker than Barbie was used to, but slow enough for her to prepare for what she was about to walk into. Two very distinct possibilities were at the forefront of her mind, and she wasn’t excited about either. While it was possible for a young boy to get as dirty as Jedidiah was in an afternoon, his dental hygiene and general smallness gave her cause for concern. _Was the home he was leading her to safe?_ She didn’t believe so with all of his warnings before. Not to mention the anxious glances he kept cutting her.

Barbie wasn’t sure what exactly she was going to do if her concerns were revealed to be true, but she couldn’t fathom leaving him in a bad situation. As they got further and further from the road though, her second theory became more and more likely, that Jedidiah might be a runaway. As she met another one of his worried looks with a reassuring smile of her own, she hoped that was the case. While still not an easy task, helping get a runaway home would be infinitely faster than getting a child away from a bad family situation. And Barbie was committed to helping Jedidiah either way.

After about forty-five minutes of walking - she’d been checking her watch frequently - she stopped him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Jedidiah, sweetie, if you don’t have anywhere to go-”

“We’re almost there, it's just in that clearing,” he shrugged her hand away and gestured ahead, with a grimace, “So you can go.”

“C’mon hun, you know I can’t do that.”

His face was pained as he nodded once, “Yeah, I reckon I do.”

They continued on, slower than before, the tension tangible between the two. Barbie’s hand’s fluttered to her abdomen, holding it lightly as they broke the treeline. There was a structure of sorts there in the clearing, but she’d feel like a liar if she called it a house. The whole area around the building was littered with junk in varying states of disrepair, and the grass itself was higher than her knees. The ‘house’ was wooden, with a porch in front, though said porch was sunken in and at least two holes could be seen on the roof from her vantage point.

“We’re here.” Jedidiah stopped, turning to her. “Thanks for the help Miss Barbie, I think I got it from here.”

“Jedidiah, surely you don’t expect me to believe you _live_ here.” Barbie sighed, squatting down to his height and taking his hand in hers. “Look, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, I’ll take you to the nearest sheriff's office, and we’ll get you somewhere safe. Let me help you, sweetie.”

“We do live here,” he scowled, “At least until it’s safe to go back to the main house.”

At the word ‘we’ Barbie’s heart sunk. _Could he have siblings holed up in here that he was taking care of?_ The situation was getting messier by the second, but there wasn’t really any getting out of it now. “I’d love to meet them before I leave.” she smiled, walking towards the dilapidated building.

“There’s no need for that, Granny don’t like strangers on her property.” Jedidiah grabbed her hand, trying to pull her to a stop, but as hard as he pulled he wasn’t able to do more than inconvenience her.

“I won’t be a stranger for long, besides, won’t your Granny want to know how polite you were?” At this point they were on the porch, the whole thing groaning under their weight, and Barbie knocked on the door. Jedidiah looked like he might be about to vomit, which she ignored, waiting at the door on the balls of her feet. After a few moments of no answer, she knocked again, ignoring the visibly upset boy behind her. She expected another long bout of silence, or maybe even another child greeting her. She did not expect the door to reveal a small, timid woman in a bathrobe.

“Jed, is that you? Oh!” the woman startled as she saw Barbie standing there, “Can I help you?”

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am, I just wanted to make sure Jedidiah made it home okay. You see, there was almost an accident on the road, and I was worried about him.”

“Oh, my stars! Come here baby, and let me get a good look at you.” Jedidiah approached the woman slowly, frowning at the floor the whole time. She pulled him to her, gaze frantically taking stock before sighing in relief and pulling him in for a hug. “You go on in and bring that stuff to your Granny.” He nodded, giving one last look to Barbie before scampering out of sight.

“Well, I guess I’ll be on my way now.” Barbie began to back away, unsure but anxious to get back on the road. She’d been stopped for over an hour now, and she still needed to get back to her van. Not to mention that there’d have to be another pitstop soon to get food and every second stopped was a second Roger was gaining on her. And as uneasy as she felt about the place, Jedidiah’s mother did seem to care for him. With a quick vow to at least leave a tip with the Children’s Bureau, she made to leave.

“There’s no need to rush out”, the woman called, halting Barbie’s retreat, “Why don’t you come in and let us thank you properly for helping Jed.”

“That’s sweet ma’am-”

“Henrietta.”

“Ah, yes, that’s sweet Henrietta, but I do have to go. I need to be in California as soon as possible, and it’s going to take a while to get back to my van.” Barbie gestured vaguely behind her, a polite if strained smile in place.

“Oh pish,” Henrietta laughed, “Let me at least make you some tea. I’ve got a pot on already, it won’t take long.”

Despite her misgivings, Barbie sighed and nodded. “Alright, a cup couldn’t hurt.”

“Of course not, Darlin’. Now, what was your name again?” Henrietta opened the door wider, guiding Barbie in.

“Hm, oh. My friends call me Barbie.”

“What a cute name! Like the little dolls.” Barbie let out a weak chuckle as Henrietta giggled, delighted. It was a joke she’d heard a thousand times, but everyone who made it thought they were very clever for doing so. “I hope you like English breakfast, it’s Mama’s favorite.”

Henrietta continued to prattle on, but Barbie was hardly paying attention to her, taking in the sad state of her surroundings instead. Every surface was covered in dust or grime, and as soon as the door closed behind them the staleness of the air became almost unbearable. Barbie’s hands wrapped around her stomach protectively, and Henrietta gasped excitedly. “Are you expecting Sugar?”

Barbie flushed and nodded as Henrietta led her to the sitting room and motioned for her to take the armchair across from the occupied loveseat. The other woman in the room looked up at their arrival and waved welcomingly. Barbie smiled softly in return before replying, “Just under three months along”, rubbing her little bun and taking the offered seat.

“Isn’t that just wonderful Mama?” Henrietta joined the other woman on the loveseat, beaming. “I’ve always wanted a daughter, she added dreamily.

“Oh yes, wonderful. There’s nothing more wonderful than motherhood.” ‘Mama’ looked off wistfully, holding a tiny teacup in her hands gingerly. The cup was dwarfed in the woman’s grasp, her frame taking nearly the whole seat, leaving Henrietta to perch delicately off the edge.

Barbie hummed, noncommittally, wanting to drink her tea and get out of there. The smiles on her hosts' faces were just a bit off-putting and the chair she’d sat in let out an awful stench as soon as she’d sat down.

She was grateful then that Henrietta immediately began serving up a cup for her from the side table, chattering as she did so. “This is Barbie, Mama. She came all the way from the highway to make sure Jed made it home alright, isn’t that nice.”

“Yes, yes, very nice.” her mother agreed, that same almost vacant grin on her face.

“Well, I just couldn’t leave him”, Barbie explained, “I almost hit him when he ran right in front of my van. Had to spin into the field to miss him.”

“Dear, his Uncle’s gonna be very cross with him. He knows better than to be seen out by the road.” Henrietta muttered as she handed Barbie her cup. Barbie wrinkled her nose as she accepted the cup, something about how she said that felt wrong, though she wasn’t sure why, and took a deep sip. She’d not realized just how thirsty she was, though it made sense after trekking for so long under the Texas sun.

“It tastes lovely,” which it did, “Is it looseleaf?”

‘Mama’ perked up, talking animatedly about tea in general as Barbie sipped, content to listen. She kept an eye out for Jedidiah, hoping to give him one last goodbye, but mostly planned her exit. She hoped there would be no issue getting back on the road, but she did have CB-radio if she needed to call for help. Barbie didn’t want to use that, afraid Roger would pick up her signal, but she tried to squash that worry before it could settle in. _She would be fine._ With her cup empty, Barbie set in on the coffee table and stood, her legs almost buckling under her.

“Would you like another cup, Dear?” Henrietta asked, standing with her.

Barbie shook her head, both as a no and to try and clear the fogginess that had begun to swarm her. She felt very warm and even with a hand firmly on the armrest she was having a hard time staying up. “I don’t feel so good,” she groaned, her words sounding slurred and her voice thick. She made one step, and lost her balance, going blank before she hit the floor.


	2. Almanac

When Barbie finally woke up, she wished she hadn’t. Her left shoulder and hip were sore, her throat was dry, and her head was throbbing so bad she couldn’t remember where she was. But, as she tried to reach for her abdomen and was stopped by the restraints she felt on her wrist, her eyes flew open in panic. Her first thought was that Roger had caught up to her, but as she took stock of the room she was in her memory of earlier came flooding back.

The room was small, barely enough room for the two beds that were in there as well as a single nightstand. On the nightstand lay a bible, a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a worn rosary. The only light sources were a single bulb hanging from the ceiling and a small window caked with a layer of unidentifiable gunk. The linens on both beds look threadbare and if the smell she was enduring right now was anything to go off of, they hadn’t been washed in ages.

_Those ungrateful bastards._ She tried to shout, but her voice was muffled by a scrap of fabric she did not want to know the origin of and flailed uselessly against her restraints. The way they scratched against her skin let her know they were rope, a blessing in her estimation since the rope was more forgiving than metal. She began to twist her left hand, ignoring the burn as the fibers rubbed her skin raw, gaze locked firmly on the door. _If she could just get one wrist free…_

Barbie didn’t get to finish that thought before footsteps interrupted her, forcing her to stop her attempts lest they catch her in the act. She considered pretending to still be asleep but decided staying awake might answer a few questions. It was Henrietta who peaked in, a disappointment as Barbie had been hoping for Jedidiah, who smiled brightly when she saw her captive.

“She’s awake now Aunt Luda May, come meet our guest.” The door opened, and the two women came in, both grinning as though actually greeting a friend instead of a stranger they had strapped to their bed. “This is Barbie, she brought Jed home this afternoon. Isn’t that nice of her?”

Luda May nodded, placing a glass on the cluttered nightstand before peering down at Barbie as Henrietta perched herself on the empty bed. “It was awfully nice. Dumb of that boy to get caught though. He’ll be the death of us yet.”

Henrietta continued as if Luda May didn’t say anything, “I think I still have some yarn leftover, yellow for sure, but maybe pink. Oh, I do hope so! Pink booties are absolutely darling, don’t you think Barbie?” She leveled Barbie with a look that held some of the hostility she’d been masking. “I bet you haven’t even begun your knitting, what, with taking a road trip in your condition. Don’t you know that’s dangerous?”

Tears were streaming down Barbie’s face at this point, blurring her vision as she cursed Henrietta. Her words were muffled though, frustrating her even more as she threw her head back against the pillow. Luda May grasped her shoulders, pressing her against the bed and stopping her movements. “None of that now. I can take your gag out if you promise to be quiet. Otherwise, it’s going back in, and I won’t be offering water again till in the morning.”

Barbie nodded in earnest, mouth dry as cotton and desperate for something to drink.

“Alright”, Luda May nodded in approval, removing the gag and bringing the cup to Barbie’s lips, “That’s a good girl. Small sips.” Barbie obeyed, terrified the water would be taken away. She didn’t know when she’d get more and desperately wanted her voice free if she got a chance to talk to Jedidiah.

“What do you want with me?” she asked when Luda May finally took the empty glass from her, setting it aside.

“You were right Henrietta,” the woman ignored Barbie completely, sitting next to her niece, “She’s comely enough. I’m sure she’ll make beautiful babies.”

Barbie choked back a sob, unable to stop the hot tears from falling, though silencing them as best she could. The ropes stopped her hand once again from rubbing her stomach and she stilled before her captors could notice. Their conversation didn’t stop, so she assumed she was in the clear and instead sent soothing thoughts to her little bump. It took a second for her to blink back the stream of tears, but she did muster the strength to calm herself with a deep breath.

_What do you know?_ She asked herself, trying to keep a clear head about the situation. She knew there were four, maybe five people in the house, and that she was very deep in the woods. Too deep for neighbors to hear if she screamed. It sounded like ‘Uncle’ was out, though she would have to file him away for later until she knew more. Henrietta wouldn’t be a problem if she got loose, she was a slip of a woman and Barbie could take her easily. _She’d enjoy it too._ Luda May was older, and though she seemed fairly sturdy, Barbie still felt she’d win in a fair fight. ‘Mama’ was a non-issue, as Barbie was certain she could outrun her, and she was relatively sure Jedidiah wouldn’t stop her.

For the first time since she woke barbie let herself feel ashamed of how stupid she was to ignore the boy’s warnings. She’d make it up to him, bringing a whole SWAT team to rescue him from this. With the assurance that she was working on freeing herself, Barbie cleared her throat to interrupt the two women. “Could one of you take me to the bathroom, please? I really need to go.”

She hoped it was Luda May, so she could get a real feel of how strong the woman was, but Henrietta would be fine, just as long as she could get a layout of the house. They paused, both looking at her, Henrietta with annoyance and Luda May skeptically. “Please?” Barbie tried again, switching tactics, “The baby is really pressing into my bladder.”

That did the trick, and Henrietta shot up, clucking in concern as she patted Barbie awkwardly. “Oh, the changes a child does to our bodies, such a blessing.” She reached to unfasten Barbie’s restraints, but Luda May stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder.

“Let Thomas handle that. We don’t want our guest to get any funny ideas.”

“Of course Auntie.” Henrietta straightened, clasping and unclasping her hands. “We have been having issues with our guest leaving prematurely.”

_That word again, as if anyone would willingly stay with you psychos._ Barbie smiled tightly, forcing her voice to be polite and friendly, _just play along till you can get out,_ “Thomas, is that Jedidiah’s uncle you mentioned? I’d love to meet him as well.” That was not a lie, any information she could get on her captors was a key to getting out.

“Oh, no, I was talking about Uncle Charlie-” Henrietta started before being cut off.

“He goes by Hoyt now and you know it,” Luda May snorted derisively, glaring down at Barbie. “Tommy’s my boy.”

Barbie’s heart sank, though she tried not to show it, brightening her smile as much as she could, hurting her cheeks from the strain. “Either way, I’m glad to meet him.” Another variable was the last thing she needed, but she fought to keep her calm. Panicking wouldn’t help, she needed a level head if any plan of escape was going to work. _Besides,_ she thought, _Luda May is very old, surely a son of hers would be at least Barbie’s father’s age._

Henrietta didn’t say anything, instead keeping her eyes glued to the floor, but Luda May smirked contemptuously. “We’ll see about that. Thomas!” she shouted to the doorway, “Get in here, I need your help!”

A pause, and then footsteps so heavy they made the ground tremble started, growing louder by the second. Henrietta scurried out of the way, sliding between Barbie’s bed and the wall as Luda May began loosening the restraints. Swallowing back her fear, Barbie focused on the older woman, hands trembling as she sat up and rubbed her bump, ignoring the welts on her wrists. “Thank you,” she muttered, sitting up just in time for ‘Tommy’ to enter the room.

All hope of escape drained out of her as she took in the massive form in the doorway. The man dwarfed her by nearly a foot and a half and was just as bulky as he’d sounded coming down the hall. As her gaze traveled up she took in the muscles that seemed to ripple even in inactivity, and the fact that his right arm was missing below the elbow. Still, she kept her smile in place, and if it weren’t for her face stuck the way it was, she was certain she’d have screamed when she finally saw his face.

Or, what appeared to be his face. It couldn’t be, the skin so discolored and hanging off of him disgustingly. Though what else it _could_ be eluded her. “Y-you must be Thomas.” She greeted, her voice stilted from how hard she was straining to keep any sign of fear from it. With a deep breath, she pushed forward, “Thank you so much for helping me.”

He didn’t respond, but Luda May did as she finished with Barbie’s ankle ties. “Thomas don’t talk, so don’t expect a reply.” Her words were straight to the point, but lacking a bit of the vitriol from before.

Barbie nodded, standing shakily and stepping towards the hulking man with more bravado than she felt, and stuck out her hand. “My name is Barbie, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” At first, he just peered down at her, at least she assumed so, it was difficult to see his eyes around all that skin. Finally, he grunted and clasped her hand, dwarfing hers in his grasp.

Luda May cleared her throat and he dropped her hand immediately, looking at his mother. “Now that introductions are out of the way, I need you to take Miss Barbie here to the bathroom.” Thomas nodded, lifting her with his left arm and throwing her over his shoulder like a sack of flour. Barbie hissed, rolling to get her weight off of her abdomen as Henrietta cried out in shock. “You can’t hold her like that Thomas, she’s in the family way!” Luda May cried, and the man dropped Barbie to the ground as if she burned him.

She landed unceremoniously on her backside, tears once again brimming as she held her little bun gently. “It’s okay,” she said, just as much to reassure herself as the rest of the room. “We are fine, just shocked.” Barbie stood, using the bed behind her for leverage with one arm, the other still wrapped protectively around her belly.

Henrietta and Luda May both rushed to her, crowding around her as they cooed and patted her down, and Barbie thought she was going to be sick. Now she _really_ had to go and if she didn’t go soon she’d piss herself right then and there. With that end goal in mind and with as much composure as she could muster she looped her arm in Thomas’ left one and smiled up at him. “Thanks again for showing me the way, the baby makes it hard to hold it.”

She made sure to make it sound like she was a normal guest with a normal request. It seemed to work, Thomas grunted again and led her out of the room, leaving his mother and cousin behind as they entered the hallway.

As they made their way to the bathroom Barbie took in as much of the house as she could, counting every door and looking into any that she could. The only one that was open they passed too quickly for her to properly inspect, but she did see a body lying in a bed. _Could that be the Hoyt/Charlie character? Or another family member?_ As she considered that, Thomas led her right to the front door.

Barbie looked up at him in shock, her mouth wide open as he opened it. His grip on her arm didn’t loosen as he took her outside, rather, it tightened almost uncomfortably, confusing her immensely. She didn’t realize what was going on till he stopped in front of a small wooden structure to the side of the property that she smelt before she saw.

The sinking realization that she was going to have to use an outhouse almost brought her to tears again, but she soldiered on and opened the door. She’d never seen one before, so she couldn’t really decide if it exceeded or fell short of her expectations, but she did not want to go in there. Her bladder had other plans though, so she dashed in and slammed the door behind her.

It was thankfully easy to figure out and someone had been kind enough to leave slatted holes in the back for ventilation and to let light in. She made a mental note to go before the sunset because navigating this in the dark was more than she could handle. _Hopefully, I’ll be gone before then._ This thought gave her comfort, which was immediately forgotten as she was about to wrap up, and a new problem arose. There was no toilet paper to be found.

Barbie looked around frantically but came up empty. _Surely they didn’t-_ she couldn’t complete the thought, reaching up to ask Thomas for some help when she noticed a Farmer’s Almanac hanging from the door. Her suspicion was proven true when, upon further inspection, she noticed pages missing from the book. Almost sobbing in relief she finished and finally knocked, letting her warden know she was done.

The door opened and Thomas held out his arm expectantly. “Oh,” Barbie hesitated, hand half extended to him. “Is there somewhere I could wash my hands first?” There was no change in his expression, hadn’t been this whole time, and he didn’t lower his arm. Barbie bit her lip, but took the proffered appendage, afraid to upset the man. He may have done nothing to hurt her intentionally yet, but he took orders from the two crazy biddies keeping her locked up.

Surprisingly, he led her not to the house, but further behind the property, to a little stone circle she recognized as a well. She’d never seen one of these in person either, but it looked similar enough to the one in Snow White to identify. Thomas stopped right in front of it, gesturing at a bucket in the edge with a grunt and Barbie beamed up at him, a genuine smile this time. “Thank you!”

He rumbled a bit as she washed off, this sounding different from his other noises, and Barbie wondered idly if he had an easier way to communicate. She shook her head though, pushing the thought away. _I’ll be gone before it’s an issue._ He finally led her back to the house, her clean hands tucked into his arm once again, and closed her glimpse of freedom behind them.

Henrietta looked surprised to see them return, but Luda May looked speculative as they entered. “She didn’t give you no trouble, did she?” Thomas shook his head. “Well, she’d be dumber than a box of rocks if she did.” The words were scathing but her tone was light. “You can get back to what you were doing I expect.”

He let her go, but before he could leave Barbie stopped him with a hand on his back. He glanced back at her, face blank but eyes questioning. She drew in a deep breath, knowing that any trust she was going to build relied on how she handled herself now, “Thank you. I know I’ve said it more than a few times, but I mean it.” He blinked and patted her hand clumsily before finally leaving, the door clicking behind him.

“Seems you’ve gotten friendly with my boy there.” Luda May raised her brow, hands on her hips.

“He’s very polite. You’ve raised him well.” It was only half a lie, he’d been a perfect gentleman, but a boy raised well didn’t keep hostages.

“He’s a good boy.” Luda May agreed, gesturing back to the bed Barbie had been tied to. “Are you gonna be a good girl?”

Barbie walked back to the woman, her gait more confident than she felt, and sat primly on the bed in question. “Of course.”

Luda May looked down at her, lips pursed as she considered her prisoner. “I suppose you expect me to believe you aren’t gonna try to escape? Cause, believe me, Honey, they’ve all tried it before and we ain’t stupid.”

Barbie’s heart clenched as she considered the other women who’d been in this position. _Had any gotten away?_ She masked her worry and smiled blankly up at the older woman. “Why would I try to run? I’m your _guest_ , aren’t I?”

Luda May threw back her head and barked out a laugh as Henrietta stomped over, a scowl on her face. “Don’t listen to her Auntie, they all try to run, she ain’t no different.”

“Don’t be daft Henrietta, I know better than to trust someone like her. Good girls don’t come in her condition without a man in the picture.”

An indignant flush scorched Barbie’s face, halting all rational thought as she snapped back, “I’ll have you know, I’m a married woman!”

“Oh, Sugar, you don’t have to lie,” Henrietta simpered, sitting next to Barbie and wrapping her arms around her. “We all know you don't have no ring on your finger, but it’s alright. That’s God’s place to judge, not ours.”

“I took my ring to the jewelers to be resized”, a lie, she’d pawned it before she left. “And my husband will be very concerned when he finds out I’m missing.” That wasn’t a lie, there was no way Roger wasn’t chasing after her like a bat out of hell right now.

“So you’re saying he’ll come lookin for you?” Luda May asked, grinning ferally.

“I- I suppose so,” Barbie responded, taken aback by the expression on the woman’s face.

“Good. We’ll be happy to have him for dinner when he gets here.” With that final comment, she tied Barbie back to the bed, allowing her just enough slack to sit up, but not enough for her hands or feet to touch. “We’ll be back to get you for supper.” was the last thing Luda May said before she and Henrietta left Barbie alone again in the room, unsure when ‘supper’ was.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much if you've made it this far! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this project of mine. Also wondering if I should cross publish on Tumblr, as it isn't in 2nd person like the fics I'm used to reading. The second chapter should be coming soon, and hopefully more to follow.


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